Crippled by grief and uncertainty, relatives of accident victim Chaitram Rampersad are begging for help to care for him after he was discharged from hospital with gaping bed sores.
Shrunken and paralysed from his neck down after being hit by four cars last March, Rampersad is now a shadow of his former self. He cannot talk, walk, eat, breathe or defecate on his own. His mother, Mohenee, feeds him liquified food every three hours from a tube embedded in his stomach.
He also breathes from a trach attached to his nasal cavity, which has to be cleaned daily. His limbs are curled inward and his finger nails have been cutting into his flesh. His feet, encased in casts are black with sores. Rampersad’s eyes are his only form of communication.
During an interview, Mohenee said she did not know how to care for her son properly.
“I need professional help. His bed sores are so deep I can see his bone. It is oozing yellow pus and the sores are as big as the palm of my hand,” she cried. Mohenee said since Rampersad was discharged from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex last Friday, she has not been able to go out to work.
“Things are really hard for us financially. I don’t know how to deal with this and we are hoping that the Government could send us two nurses to help us,” Mohenee added. She said it costs more than $900 weekly to care for Rampersad. He has to wear adult diapers and take an injection daily which cost $166 a double dose. His medication is not available through the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme, she explained.
“A friend of mine donated a bed, towels and his breathing tube. Taking care of him is more difficult than caring for a baby because I don’t know when he is in pain,” she added. She said in her heart she believed there was hope for her son.
“I think if he gets therapy we can bring him back,” Mohenee said. Recalling the accident which stole her son’s mobility, Mohenee said Rampersad was trying to cross the road close to a burger cart at Grand Bazaar, Valsayn, when a car ploughed into him on March 1. He got up, but three other cars rolled over him.
He spent three months in the Intensive Care Unit and four months on the ward of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. Mohenee said she could not understand why Rampersad was discharged when he was covered in bed sores. She said she wanted the casts on his feet to be removed.
“I can see the casts cutting into his feet so I put pieces of cotton to stop it from oozing. Right now his entire body is stiff. His muscles are not working and he is suffering,” Mohenee said. She said that former health minister Dr Fuad Khan promised her assistance before the election but that never materialised.
Neither MP for Princes Town Barry Padarath or Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh could be reached for comment yesterday as calls to their cellular phones went unanswered. Both men were in Parliament for the wrapping up of the Budget debate.
Anyone wanting to assist Rampersad can contact his family at 385-9405 or 767-2942.